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Storm Mothers are they only a West Thing?

02-27-2017, 05:43 PM

So I'm thinking since Storm mothers are only really mentioned in the West with the Tia Tradition, they may only be a western Ocean thing? I mean we don't have talk of them controlling nonocean storms. And they may possibly oversea the Inland Sea, though maybe only have. But I like to think the Dreaming Sea uses a Different Paradigm of God. As sometimes Gods of the same role will represent a different culture elsewhere. Like a Elementals do indeed vary with locations.

I would make some variation of the Storm Mother for the Dreaming Sea. Maybe change their disposition a bit as well, given the different climate/culture? Idk what I'd do (in my games, the major storm deity group is a god of lions and his thunderbird-esque cronies. Maybe a kindlier group?)

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I think they're most powerful and most numerous in the West, but I could see a few in the Inner Sea and definitely a weird one or two in the Dreaming Sea.

This. Based on their general info it's a good guess the Storm Mothers would have as much of a presence in the White, Inner and Dreaming Seas, not to mention any other less known and more elusive seas that might exists close to the borders of Creation and beyond - like the probably far from insignificant chunk of ocean swallowed by Rakshastan in the Balorian Crusade.

With their agressive and territorial nature they would be quite suited to playing "border baronesses" lording over mortal populations they bulwark against Wyld & Fae, in a way like Shaloy of the Shining Rod, the current god-king of Iorane, the City of Pinnacles, from pages 36-37 of Scroll of the Monk.

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In general I would say that any Storm Mothers in the Inner Sea probably just do their jobs and for the most part don't try to threaten to sink ships with female passengers. Trying to blackmail ships heading to or from the Blessed Isle is a great way to get a group of Immaculate Monks sent out to remind you of your proper station. There have problem been a number of such lessons taught over the centuries, such that few Storm Mothers are willing to risk the Blessed Isle's wrath (though with the current chaos that could be changing). Still, in general I would expect any Storm Mothers in the Inner Sea to keep to a lower profile than they do in the West.

As for the Dreaming Sea, it seems entirely probably that there would be Storm Mothers in the Dreaming Sea, but I would want to make them a bit different from the ones in the West. The Dreaming Sea is supposed to be a bit mysterious and different. I would want to keep the "spiritual ecological niche" of the Storm Mother the same (blackmailing ships with the threat of powerful storms) while keeping some of the core ideas (obsession with beauty) but twisting it a bit through their location - the Dreaming Sea is located in the Southeast (closer to the Elemental Poles of Fire and Wood). Fire is often associated with Passion and Wood is associated with life, so I would want to try and include those concepts in Dreaming Sea Storm Mothers.

Just as an off-hand idea, perhaps instead of being needlessly cruel and vindictive towards those who are beautiful, Storm Mothers in the Dreaming Sea are more interested in acquiring beautiful servants. By surrounding themselves with beautiful people their own beauty is enhanced (perhaps just metaphorically or perhaps their appearance literally mirrors the people around them, so the more beautiful people who are nearby the more beautiful they are).

So instead of sinking ships with beautiful women on board out of jealously, the Storm Mothers of the Dreaming Sea would instead demand that a beautiful man or women on board a ship be given to them as a servant (and since many of the Storm Mothers of the Dream Sea are passionate beings, it's not uncommon for them to fall in love with their new beautiful servants, which can cause all sorts of complications).

Ships who refuse to the Storm Mother's demand may end up finding themselves being sunk under powerful storms, similar to what happens in the West. The social implications are a bit different in the Dreaming Sea too, and in some nations close to Storm Mothers courts they might view being a servant for a Storm Mother is a huge honor and have big contests to find those who are worthy.

So the Storm Mothers of the Dreaming Sea still fill a similar role to Western Storm Mothers - they rule over minor elemental courts, they blackmail ships who pass nearby, they're obsessed with beauty, they have all the same capabilities of Storm Mothers, but at the same time they've been changed enough by the Dreaming Sea that players who encounter them could find them a bit different and strange compared to what they normally know.

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So not a fan of the idea of things like Storm Fathers there, or Ryuujin/Fuujin type gods sitting on Mobile Lakitu clouds, or Storm Hounds in charge of the seas, crap like that. You just think its flat out storm mothers but with a different attitude?

It is a time for great deeds!

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So not a fan of the idea of things like Storm Fathers there, or Ryuujin/Fuujin type gods sitting on Mobile Lakitu clouds, or Storm Hounds in charge of the seas, crap like that. You just think its flat out storm mothers but with a different attitude?

I tend to imagine that Storm Mothers are just as often male as female and that many Elementals have the power to choose their sexual characteristics to some degree. So Storm "Fathers" exist. It's just that there's a lot of mythical resonance for hideous crones who kill beautiful women in literature and mythology, plus the idea of men murdering beautiful women has slightly different overtones, so "Mothers" are the default when writing Creation.

For the most part though I believe that most Elementals are fairly "universal." They're simply the result of Essence taking on certain forms. So you're going to get Serpent-and-Eggs in every direction. You'll see Artisans in South and the North. You'll even see Forest Kings in the West (they're called Jungle Kings in Wavecrest). The thing is, as beings of elements they tend to take on certain aspects of the dominant Element in which they were created. So an Artisan in the North and an Artisan in the South are both going to be Artisans, they're both going to have similar powers and fill a similar function in games, but there are going to be differences between them and a "regular" Artisan that you might find in the West.

When the element of wood gives birth to an element who sculpts trees and plant matter, you get an Artisan. One in the West who was born from an oak tree might be different from one in the South who was born from a saguaro cactus, but regardless they'd both be Artisans.

I find that dealing with Elementals in such a respect tends to go a decent way in making them feel a bit different. A Flame Butterfly born in Wavecrest's Mount Hamoji is going to be different from a Flame Butterfly born somewhere in the deep South even if they are both Flame Butterflies, fill the same sort of role and have the same sorts of powers.

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As for elementals I like to think there is more diversity then that. Creation is a big place, and I like to think they have more then the basic 151 Pokemon...

I ask myself how many kinds of elementals we currently have in the setting, or how much value might an "Index of Elementals" with their characteristics, powers and peculiarities have for sorcerers and other people of esoteric leanings in Creation....

Yes, they most certainly are. And i completely missed somehow that people seemed to be mixing them up.
Though it's an understandable confusion in their case as they have much in common with elemental and their courts' portrayal.